bike

A1 Topic:Transportation

US /baɪk/ UK /baɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #1903

Meanings

1

noun
A bicycle; a vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pedalling.

He rides his bike to work every morning.
2

verb
To ride or travel on a bike.

It was such a nice day that I decided to bike to the store.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a bicycle; a vehicle with... bicycle

2 verb · to ride or travel on a bike. pedal

Word family

Forms bikes

Derived forms antibikeaquabikebikablebike-and-ridebike-lashbike-sheddingbikeathonbikefishingbikelashbikelessbikelikebikelock

Related forms trike

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mountain bike
a sturdy bicycle designed for riding over rough ground

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

Simplified etymology

Bike arose in the late 19th century as an abbreviation of bicycle, itself formed from bi-, “two,” and Greek kuklos, “wheel.”

Etymology

From Middle English bike, byke (“a nest of wild bees or wasps; also, honeycomb”), of unknown origin. Perhaps a back-formation of Middle English *bykere (“beekeeper”), from Old English bēocere (“beekeeper”); or from Old English *bȳc, a byform of Old English būc (“belly; vessel; container”). Compare also Scots byke (“beehive, anthill; home, dwelling”), Old Norse bý (“bee”).

bike Middle English bēocere Old English *bȳc Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Transportation

External links

# bike

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /baɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /baɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 1903

## Meanings
1. A bicycle; a vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pedalling.
2. To ride or travel on a bike.

## Examples
- He rides his bike to work every morning.
- It was such a nice day that I decided to bike to the store.

## Derived Forms
- antibike
- aquabike
- bikable
- bike-and-ride
- bike-lash
- bike-shedding
- bikeathon
- bikefishing
- bikelash
- bikeless
- bikelike
- bikelock

## Related Forms
- trike

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bike
- Root: bēocere
- Root: *bȳc

## Etymology
From Middle English bike, byke (“a nest of wild bees or wasps; also, honeycomb”), of unknown origin. Perhaps a back-formation of Middle English *bykere (“beekeeper”), from Old English bēocere (“beekeeper”); or from Old English *bȳc, a byform of Old English būc (“belly; vessel; container”). Compare also Scots byke (“beehive, anthill; home, dwelling”), Old Norse bý (“bee”).

## AI Etymology
Bike comes from Middle English bike, byke (“a nest of wild bees or wasps; also, honeycomb”), of unknown origin. Perhaps a back-formation of Middle English *bykere (“beekeeper”), from Old English bēocere (“beekeeper”); or from Old English *bȳc, a byform of Old English būc (“belly; vessel; container”). Compare also Scots byke (“beehive, anthill; home, dwelling”), Old Norse bý (“bee”).

## Topics
- Transportation

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